This Week in Reading - May 18

 

It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives us all a chance to recap our week.

What I Got:

Death in the Countryside by Maria Malone - This looks like a good mystery and I can never resist with a working dog.  (Publisher)

Currently:

Reading:  The Spirit Moves by Carol J. Perry and The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl

Listening:  The Innkeeper of Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen

We had a nice weekend at the beach.  The weather wasn't great but it was still a good time and always good to get away for a bit.  Once we got home I got big repairs tackled (as in I hired the people to do the fixing) which was such a huge relief.  I also got some more bookshopping done which is always fun.   My reading has taken a bit of a hit.  I'm liking what I'm reading but by the time I get in bed I am wiped out feeling.  

Have a great week and happy reading!

Cards on the Table - Classic Mystery Review

Goodreads: Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie

Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)
Source:   Publisher

Description:  A flamboyant party host is murdered in full view of a roomful of bridge players!

Mr. Shaitana was famous, as were his parties. He was also a man of whom everybody was a little afraid. So, when he boasted to Poirot that he considered murder an art form, the detective had some reservations about accepting a party invitation of cards and viewing Shaitana’s private art collection. Indeed, what began as an absorbing evening of bridge was to turn into a more dangerous game altogether…

Genre: Mystery - Classic

Why I Picked This Book:  This was the May pick for the Read Christie Challenge.

My Impression:   Oh this was a good one!  I could practically feel Christie's enjoyment as she carefully plotted this complicated yet oh so simple mystery.  This is also the first time Mrs. Oliver appears on the page.  She has long been a favorite side character of mine and that is even more so since reading Lucy Worsley's biography of Christie and reading how Christie used Mrs. Oliver to vent some of her own thoughts.

I found this to be a quick read and enjoyed the three main detectives - Superintendent Battle, Mrs. Oliver, and of course Hercule Poirot.  As well, Colonel Race makes several appearances throughout the book.  I think the mystery will keep everyone guessing and even though I had read it before I was surprised by the ending.  When I was younger I did agree with Captain Hastings that this one was a bit boring but now I'm fully on Poirot's side and find it one of the best mysteries he's been involved in.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Of course!  I'm looking forward to the June pick for this challenge and will be rereading this one at some point in the future.

Would I Recommend this Book? Absolutely!  This is Christie at her best.

Friday Fives - Beachy Covers on My TBR

I'm in a list making kind of mood so I thought I'd start making random five lists.  Sometimes they'll be bookish other weeks not so much.  We just got back from a beach trip and while the weather was not so great we had such a fun time.  I'm already looking forward to the next trip later this summer.  Until then, here are 5 covers on my TBR that feel like virtual beach trips.

1. The Seafront Tea Room by Vanessa Greene 

2.  Beach House Rules by Kristy Woodson Harvey

3.  Boardwalk Summer by Meredith Jaeger

4.  The Friendship Club by Robyn Carr

5.  Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum

Do you have any books with beachy covers on your TBR?

Books from the Backlog - Perfectly Matched

Today I'm linking up with Carole from Carole's Random Life of Books for Books from the Backlog.  I really enjoy the chance to feature a book that's been hiding in the piles of books for far too long!

Goodreads:  Perfectly Matched by Heather Webber

Blurb:  The heat is on...

When Boston psychic Lucy Valentine finds herself involved in a group of eccentric psychics trying to learn more about their abilities, she is convinced a rare spring heat wave has flushed the crazies out of hiding.

Adding to her theory is her newest client in the Lost Loves division of Valentine, Inc., her family’s lucrative matchmaking firm. He’s an animal communicator who hires Lucy to find his purrfect mate—because his cat told him so.

But craziest of all is The Beantown Burner, a serial arsonist who is targeting private eye Sam Donahue, the brother of Lucy’s boyfriend, Sean. With the help of her kooky psychic group, Lucy must tap into abilities she didn’t know she had to catch the firebug before the fires turn deadly. What she never expected to discover is that the motive behind the flames hits a little too close to home...and her heart.

Why It Needs to Come Off the Shelf:  Not only is this the last book in a series I've read all the other books in but according to Goodreads this is the same Heather Webber who writes some of my favorite magical realism now.  

Three Books I'm Waiting For In the Next Three Months

 

There are so many great books coming out in the next few months and so many I can't wait to read!  Here are three coming out in the next three months that are at the top of my list.

June

Don't Let Him In by Lisa Jewell - I have really enjoyed every book I've read by Jewell and I can't wait to pick this one up.

July

Under the Stars by Beatriz Williams - It was so hard to pick just one for July but this one sounds amazing.

August

For Duck's Sake by Donna Andrews - I'd want to read this one just for the title but the fact that it's one of my favorite cozy mystery series doesn't hurt.

What books are you looking forward to reading in the next 3 months?

Birthday Season - Books I Actually Bought

 

I celebrate a birthday season instead of just one day and of course going to bookstores are part of the way I celebrate.  I've still got a bit to go but here are twelve books I've bought.

1.  The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson - This was part of a historical fiction bundle at one of our indie bookstores and it sounded really good.

2.  The Wandering Season by Aimie K. Runyan - Another book in the bundle and this one is not only an author whose books I've enjoyed in the past but involves a DNA test so I'm looking forward to it.

3.  Murder at Gull's Nest by Jess Kidd - The last book in the bundle!  I've read some good reviews for this one and it is another one that looked really good.

4.  At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Weber - I've loved everything I've read by this author and I'm trying to get all the ones I haven't read.

5.  The Museum Detective by Maha Khan Phillips - The blurb really grabbed my attention.

6.  Emily Wilde's Encylopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett - I keep checking this out from the library but by the time I get it I don't have time to read it before it goes back so obviously I just needed to buy it.

7.  Touchstone by Laurie R. King - I picked this one up at a used bookstore and I was so excited.  I have the second book in the duology for years but have never been able to find this one until now.

8.  The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand - I finally read a book by this author earlier this year and really loved it.  The blurb really caught my eye on this one and I'm looking forward to reading it.

9.   The Riviera House by Natasha Lester - This one looks fantastic and I've read another book by this author and really enjoyed it.

10.  Our Last Days in Barcelona by Chanel Cleeton - A missing sister and a dual timeline sounds like a book for me and I've liked what I've read by this author.

11.  Picnic in Someday Valley by Jodi Thomas - I really liked the first book in this series and this is the only one that my library doesn't have so I was excited to see it in the store.

12. The Secret to Southern Charm by Kristy Woodson Harvey - I really enjoyed the first book in this series that I read last year so I had to pick up this second book.

What's a book you're really wanting to buy?  Have you read any of these?

My New TBR Jars

 

I watch a decent amount of Bookish YouTube and so many of them have TBR jars either with prompts or book titles.  I love an element of randomness and desperately wanted my own TBR jar.  While I don't have any spare jars I did find these 2 decorative boxes that were too pretty to throw away but I had never figured out what to do with them.

The first one is my Shelf TBR jar.  I took a whole bunch of index cards and wrote all the books on my shelves down.  If I had a series I just wrote the first one - or the next one I had to read - not the whole series.  It took a lot of time but I got a lot of audio book listening done and it was fun to explore my shelves.  I cut the index cards up into little slivers with one title one each one and spent a ridiculous amount of time folding them up.  Next time I'm looking for an actual book to read I just give the box a shake and pick a title.

The came the Audio Book TBR jar.  If I thought the Shelf one took awhile this one took a ridiculous amount of time.  It's at least double the size of the box for the Shelf titles and I have so many audio book titles saved in so many different platforms.  I did put a little symbol to show me what platform the book is on.  A lot of the Libby books will have to be placed on hold so when that happens I'll place that book on hold and pick another title.  I've already used this and have really been enjoying it!

I'm not really a mood reader but when I pick a book that I'm really not wanting to read than I'm going to use that as a sign that it's time for that book to come off my shelf.

Do you have any kind of random system to help you pick books?